Engineering Applications of Computer Science Professional Development: Summer 2024

Hello! We look forward to working together this summer.  This page contains general information about the Engineering Applications of Computer Science (commonly referred to as EYW: Computing) summer professional development institutes held in Austin, Texas. You will receive additional details by email as your session date approaches. If you have any questions, feel free to email Jennifer McHam or call 512-471-4706. (Note: email is the best form of communication for quickest response as Jennifer is working remotely 3 days/week until early June.)

Session Details:

  • Date: Monday, July 8- Friday, July 19, 2024
  • Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT, Monday – Friday. (We will adjourn at noon on the final day of training)
  • Location: The courses will be held in the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources Building (Bldg. 133) at UT’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus in Austin, TX, located at 10500 Exploration Way, Austin, TX 78758. You will receive additional information about the building and room location closer to the session date.
  • Parking: A parking permit will be provided to you on the first day of the program. You will not need to obtain one. Please arrive a few minutes early to allow time to pick up the permit and place it on your vehicle dashboard.

Housing:

  • This summer we are excited to be working with the Element Austin at the Domain, located at 10728 Burnet Road, Austin Texas 78758.
  • The discounted room rate is $154/night. You will pay the hotel directly. A credit card is required to hold the room, but charges will not be incurred until after your stay.
  • Please make your hotel reservations using the link below:
    Book your group rate for UT Austin Engineer Your World
  • Reservations should be made with an arrival date of the Sunday before your session begins and a departure of the final Friday. If you need to make a reservation outside of this timeframe, please reach out to our contacts at Element Austin and they’ll be happy to help:
  • To our Texas participants – don’t forget your State of Texas tax exempt form to present upon check-in.
  • If you require other accommodations, have questions about payment, or need an invoice, please contact Alex or Kallie.

Travel & Meals:

  • You are responsible for arranging and paying for your travel to and from Austin and within the city while you are here. Please note the hotel does NOT have a shuttle available that can bring you to and from training each day, or to our building.
  • Meals are not provided, however the hotel includes a complimentary hot breakfast daily and a welcome reception Monday-Thursdays. Additionally, each room is equipped with a full size refrigerator, dishwasher, stove top, dishes, and microwave.
  • Please make appropriate arrangements with your school or district for travel reimbursement before traveling to Austin.

Other Logistics:

  • Dress Code: Please come dressed comfortably to class. Jeans and shorts are acceptable attire. *To our out of state attendees, Texas is HOT in the summer, but we do like our air conditioning, so it can be chilly indoors. A light jacket or sweater is advised.
  • Evenings and Weekends: You will have homework on some nights, but there will be chances to explore Austin during your stay here. There are no classes scheduled on the weekend. The Engineer Your World team has put together a list of things to do and places to eat in the Austin area. Check out the list here: bit.ly/EYWAustin

Things to do now:

  • Make your flight arrangements, if applicable.
  • Make your hotel reservation (see details above).
  • Complete and return applicable paperwork (the safety waiver, photo release, and participant agreement) included in your confirmation email. Please upload these required documents to the UTBox Upload Widget.
  • Submit your headshot – upload to the UTBox Upload Widget.
  • Complete the required pre-survey(s) sent to you via email.
  • Ensure your PD invoice is paid. You will be (or have been) copied on the invoice sent to the accounting contact specified on your school enrollment form. This is typically sent in the spring or early summer, but will depend on when teacher registration occurs.

Things to do before Professional Development:

  • Ensure you have a computer for PD:
    • You will need a laptop with a webcam. If you have the option, we recommend that you use the same type of computer (PC or Mac) that your students will use so that you will be familiar with the functionality that they will experience.
    • Please ensure you have broad administrative privileges on the laptop that you are using during training; this very is important in case you need to fix unexpected issues quickly (with our troubleshooting help as needed) in order to continue participating in PD.
  • Install required software. As soon as possible, please install all of the necessary software on the computer that you will use in PD.
  • Complete the recommended Python tutorial.
    • Please go as far as you can through the Codecademy Python 2 tutorial. Codecademy has very high-quality materials and is our top recommendation. It’s not necessary for you to do the entire tutorial, but it’s better to do some than none. Pay special attention to the sections on Python Syntax, Strings and Console Output, Conditionals and Control Flow, and Loops (don’t worry about Lists, Statistics, Advanced Topics, or Classes). Note that we are recommending Codecademy’s Python 2 tutorial even though the curriculum and software instructions use Python 3. Why? The Python 2 version is their only free option, and it covers the necessary material extremely well. The only relevant difference between the two languages is how print statements are written, a difference that they cover well very early in the tutorial.

    (Optional): Afterwards, if you want to practice more and reinforce your new Python skills, please also go through the online Python programming language tutorial at https://www.learnpython.org/. Pay special attention to the following chapters:  Hello World, Variables and Types, Basic Operators, String Formatting, Conditions, Loops, Functions, Modules and Packages, Numpy Arrays, Exception Handling.

  • Purchase equipment and supplies (if applicable): We recommend purchasing kits of equipment and supplies through Studica as soon as possible.

Check back here regularly for updates!